(RNS) When she suited up in cap and gown to accept her diploma from Calvin University last month, Claire Murashima felt proud of her bachelor’s degree in marketing management.
But to Murashima and to many of her fellow graduates, her more singular and unexpected achievement was having navigated her senior year while serving as the first openly gay student body president in the history of the landmark Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The raven-haired 22-year-old, who grew up attending evangelical churches in California and North Carolina and identifies as queer or bisexual, filled her post at the 145-year-old school by taking principled stands about her sexual orientation, while maintaining or at least seeking the respect of her mostly straight peers and elders.
LGBTQ students fare better at Christian colleges, CCCU says
May 21, 2021
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Researchers agree LGBTQ students often struggle with isolation, loneliness and fear of assault while in college.
But the Council For Christian Colleges & Universities insists a comparison of two independent studies reveals LGBTQ students have better experiences at faith-based institutions than their peers in American universities overall.
The CCCU an international association of more than 180 Christian schools compared data from a 2018 national analysis by Rutgers University with a recent College Pulse study commission by the Religious Exemption Accountability Project.
In March, REAP filed a class-action suit against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of 33 plaintiffs. In
A warning over frivolous lawsuit with dangerous claims
Thursday, May 20, 2021 |
Chris Woodward (OneNewsNow.com)
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The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities is asking to intervene in a legal challenge against the U.S. Department of Education because what is on the line is the ability of faith-based campuses to live out their religious beliefs.
The legal challenge is known as
Hunter v Department of Education, which involves former and current LGBT students who want to revoke the religious schools exemption that is found under the Title IX anti-discrimination law. The CCCU is an international higher education organization of more than 180 Christian institutions, and so in response to this lawsuit, we filed a motion to be an official participant so that we can defend the Title IX religious protections, explains CCCU president Shirley Hoogstra.